Farm machine for loading and unloading grain



March 7, 1950 E. E. STARR ,4

FARM MACHINE FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING GRAIN Filed Nov. 13, 1947 s Sheets-Sheet 1 a0 Fig.2.

Ellis E. .Srarr E. E. STARR FARM MACHINE FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING GRAIN March 7, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 13, 1947 Inventor Attarne s E E. Starr March 7, 1950 E. E. STARR FARM MACHINE FOR LOADING- AND UNLOADING GRAIN Filed NOV. 15-, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 llllllln.

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Ellis E. Starr Patented Mar. 7, 1953 Foam-mins AND UNIJO'ADINGTGRAIN' Ellis Ei st'arr, magevin ma. Application-November 13, 1947,;seria1-No. 7.85;71'9

retain and distribute grain in an improved manner.

'An'other purpose of'thisi'nventi'on is to provide improved. meansfor carrying outitheabove mentioned function.

Another purpose of thisinvention is toprovide .an improved means .for controllablyactuating an endless conveyor inafhopper, ,providedinra vehicle.

Another purpose of this invention is to provide improved, means for urging'lthe grain 'from the "hopper to 4 and through an outlet port.

.Anothervobject of "thisjinvention is to provide an improved and simplified device,ofj,'the characterdescribed which may be ,compl'etelyvactuated and controlled from the reaigportion thereof.

Another object of this inventiongis toi rovidt: a simplified device of the character described which lendsitself wellto .cominercialrmanu'face ture.

Ancillary objects..andffeatnres ofv novelty will become apparent to those skilled in I the art, in

following the description of. the [preferred form of (the preserit invention, illustrate'din the laccompanyingjdrawings, wherein:

Figure w-1 isiapictorial elevationalvi'ew ,ofthe preferred form of the Iinvention, showing the sameutilized'in association "with altr'actor;

Figure 2zis anenlargedelevational viewjillu's- .trati'ng a. detail of. construction; particularly the .elutc'hmechanism used in the preseritiinvention .andforminga portion thereof Figure ;3 is ranlenlarged plan view of the vehicle .forming themajor portion offthe present invention;

Figure-4 is an-elevational end view of the device shown in FigureB; v

Figure 5 iswa :side ViBWiUfILthe device illustrated in Figure 3; I

Figure '6 is an enlarged 'sectionalview "il1ustrating a detail of construction andshowing particularl the baflle lutilizedwin association with the endless conveyor, and;

,Eigure 7 illustrates a portion of, the shattused in the invention.

.Referringnow in detail .tothe preferredfionn .of ithe invention it is noted that a tsimpl'ified .deviceiis illustrated "for retaining, transporting and distributing grain, fertilizer and other appurtenances common to farm operations.

One of the prime features of the present invention 'is 7 its simplicity and adaptability to V2;- "'rious and sundry purposes. By'a 'verysimple manipulation the device may "be utilized for simplytransporting"grain orthe like fromone positionor':locationtofanother locale. "Thengby "another extremely, simple manipulation, the-device may be "transported to'a idistributing'ap- 'paiatusffor spreading grain, ,fertilizer and other material. These operationsmay-fbe performed from .the rear portion (of "the device Without constant "maneuvering from zone" position to the other. A suitable prime mover generally indicated at ,1' [0.1' is *provided and inlay be conventional" in nature. The usual-power take ofi Ii2"howeve r-,. is associated with the rear portion" ofthe conven- ;tiona1,primemover, whence power ortorque is 'derived for actuation :oftheinvention. A veihicle generally indicated at M, is provided with a,.converitional draw {:bar l6 adapted to be at:- fltached fito "a conventional tractor draw 'bar through the medium of a .suitable hitch illusitratedat'l 8.

The *malr'e-up of the vehicle "forms "an import"- antppart of the present invention .andisas "follows: A pairof conventionalwheels 20'are journaled onthe chassis of" the vehicle .and' ahopp-er 22. is associated therewith. "Of course, en-d'plates 12-4., and 2 6 respectively fare associated with the :said fhopper and a "convenient :slider valve or gate ispositionedf in the 'end' plate 26. Thespeg xconstruction o'f this tslider valvej may-be Se'enbestfin Figure '4'jwherein a'pair of-channe1s 28 and 30 respectively 'serve the purpose of gui'de trails for the valve plate 3 2. A suitable handle 33] may e supplied onthe said valve plateand the plate is reciprocable Lover ,an opening "in "thesaid plate26. h lpair of s'tub s'haftsfi35, and 136"respectively are providedsin' suitable brackets in'the vehicle and suitable gears 38 ,and lll are journalejdgon 'these shafts. Extendingaround these gears 3.8

andfflflistan endlessconveyor.

The preferableform "of the en dlesshconveyor is, a simple chain "M "having 'a pluralityof 'ba flles 44 positioned thereon. This endlessconveyor or .,chain extends through the end plate Z6 andirrsplecti'on of' Figure. 3 illustrates that the braclget for .supportingithe "stub shait"36 is also-exterior o'fithe' hopper. Of course, thejbailles" are utilized" for the-pur lpfosel .df. assisting in" the removal of grain ferti- 11e,; .ianfdlftheflike (from; the f hopper. Means "for controllably actuating the endless conveyor is provided. This means may be seen as a friction clutch illustrated particularly well in Figure 2. A plate 50 is splined on a shaft 52. This shaft extends beneath the hopper and connects with a segmental shaft 54 by means of a universal joint 56. A second segmental shaft 58 is also connected in this system and more specifically to the first mentioned segmental gear 54 by means of a second universal joint 60. Of course, the last mentioned segmental shaft 58 is adapted to be connected with the power take-off I 2 of the prime mover l0.

A shaft 62 is journaled beneath the said hopper 1 and is aligned with the said shaft 52. A sliding block 64 is positioned on the said shaft 62 by means of a suitable keyway and pin construction and has a plurality of lugs 66 extending therefrom. Slidably secured to the said lugs is a pressure plate 68, which is in turn rigidly secured to the slidable block 64. A pluralityof springs or other suitable resilient biasing means 10 are supplied on the said lugs 66 and seat upon the pressure plate 68. These springs 10 also seat upon a clutch plate 12. The faces of the clutch plates 50 and 12 are suitably faced with facing 14, said facing being conducive of friction.

A bracket 16 is provided in the vehicle and has a yoke 18 pivotally secured thereto. An actuation arm 80 is in turn pivoted to the said yoke 78 and is preferably of pitman construction in order that a lever 82 may be associated therewith. The said yoke 18 is of course received in a suitable groove 84 in the said slidable block 64. By actuation of this lever 82, the yoke will of course urge the pressure plate which in turn biases the clutch plate 12 against the clutch plate 50 through the medium of the resilient springs 10.

A small housing 86 is secured to the said end plate 26 and has the terminal portion of the said shaft 62 journaled therein. A suitable bearing such as bronze or the like and indicated at 88 is supplied for this journaling construction. Received in the said housing 86 is a bevel gear 90 and this bevel gear is rigidly secured to the said shaft 62. Enmeshed with the said bevel gear 80 is a second bevel gear 92 which is in turn secured to the said shaft 36. Obviously, this construction permits the torque from the shaft 62 to be transmitted to the endless conveyor or chain 42.

For directing the grain and the like on the endless conveyor, the bafile 96 is secured to the lowermost portion of the said hopper 92 and is in juxtaposition relative to the baflies 44 of the endless chain 42. It will be noted further that in order to insure perfect centering during the actuation of the driving means, the shaft 62 is extended slightly (see Figure 2) for the purpose of being received in a suitably configured cut-out in the clutch plate 50. This of course leads the moving assembly in the clutch system to the substantially perfect alignment which is desirable for smooth operation of the clutch.

While there has been described and illustrated but a preferred form of the invention, it is apparent that variations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having described the invention, what is claimed .for selectively controlling said actuation means.

an outlet at the rear of said hopper, a slider valve 4 associated with said outlet, said conveyor means including gears journaled at the front and rear of said hopper and partially extending in said hopper having an endless chain therearound, baifies on said chain, said actuation means including a drive shaft disposed exteriorly of said hopper and alongside of one of the hopper walls, said actuation means including a friction clutch operatively connected with said drive shaft, and means carried by the rear part of the hopper for drivingly connecting said clutch and one of said gears.

2. A trailer, comprising a vehicle, a chassis forming a part of said vehicle, a hopper disposed on said chassis and including converging side walls, a front and a back wall, an endless conveyor, a gear disposed on said chassis in front of said hopper front wall, a gear disposed at least partially within and behind the back wall of said hopper, both of said gears forming a part of said endless conveyor, a drive shaft disposed exteriorly of said hopper and alongside of one of said side walls, a clutch operatively connected with said shaft and means disposed at the rear of said hopper for operating said clutch, means operatively connected with said clutch and one of said gears to operate said endless conveyor, a sectional shaft disposed at the forward end of said shaft and connected with said shaft by means of a universal joint, said sectional shaft being adapted for operation by a prime mover component, and a gate disposed on the rear wall of saiill hopper to control an opening in said rear wa 3. A trailer comprising a vehicle which includes a chassis, wheels carried by said chassis, a hopper disposed on said chassis and having a front, a rear and a pair of converging side walls, a shaft supported by and disposed above said chassis in side by side relationship with respect to one of said hopper side walls, a clutch mechanism secured to said chassis and disposed in side by side relationship to the same hopper side wall, said clutch being operatively connected with said shaft, a clutch control mechanism disposed at the rear of said hopper, said rear wall of the hopper having an opening therein with a gate operable to open and close said opening, an endless conveyor disposed in said hopper at the lower part thereof with means drivingly connecting the endless conveyor with the clutch mechanism, a sectional shaft having universal joints at both ends thereof, one of the universal joints being operatively connected with the forward end of said first mentioned shaft whereby upon operation of said sectional shaft through the other universal joint, said endless conveyor may be actuated, the operation of said endless conveyor being controlled by said clutch mechanism.

ELLIS E. STARR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ,file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,880,155 Ruth Sept. 27, 1932 2,345,328 Conway et al Mar. 28, 1944 r 2,347,522 Stinnett Apr. 25, 1944 2,411,056 Ricketts Nov. 12, 1946 2.434 718 Recker Jan. 20. 1948 

